Don't think an entirely aluminium box seems likely. I think there will be some kind of mix between aluminium and plastics to match keyboards, monitors etc.
If they make an all alu box, they would at least have to redesign the rest of the stuff with some aluminium elements, like the pro keyboard with alu keys a.s.o.

Apple could refine a design like this. I know most people here would reflexively hate this little Shuttle cube because it looks a bit PC-ish, but I kinda like it. Apple could simplify and refine this basic design, which has room for an optical drive, a hard drive, a PCI slot, an AGP slot, and generally already has FireWire and USB 2 onboard.

Isn't it funny that after Apple screwed the pooch on the cube concept, it is steadily emerging as a form factor of choice in the PC world?

A shuttle size cube (not really a cube) wouldn't make for the greatest PM, but somethin 12" cubed would be big enough to accomodate PM class expansion. Personally I think el-cap is great as it is, but...

Apple could refine a design like this. I know most people here would reflexively hate this little Shuttle cube because it looks a bit PC-ish, but I kinda like it. Apple could simplify and refine this basic design, which has room for an optical drive, a hard drive, a PCI slot, an AGP slot, and generally already has FireWire and USB 2 onboard.

While this design is VERY PCish and FUGLY, I do love the concept. Give it the brushed aluminum, Johnny Ive treatment and it'll look great. Horizantal slot load Superdrive, full size upgradeable AGP slot, one full size PCI slot...mmmmmm, I'd buy one in a sec.

Of course the whole point of this "Fat Cube" concept is the lack of mutiple PCI slots, so it really couldn't be a replacement for the Power Mac line...or could it?

Attention Internet Users!

"it's" contraction of "it is""its" possessive form of the pronoun "it".

...I have Shuttle sitting on my floor with a fried mobo. It was used as a POS machine and was on 24/7. It was dead within 8 weeks from the heat. It had a 1.2GHz Tualatin, 20GB HD, and a serial card. The air circualtion in the damn thing is way beyond horrible.

Now the parts are sitting in a nice big and plenty-fanned Antec case with a new mobo. Works sooooo much better. The Shuttle sucks ass for anything but a part time machine, at least in my experience.

A cube is really impractical. No matter what, many of the components in the new Power Macs will be commodity parts. They're designed around certain dimensions.

A 12 inch cube, for example, wouldn't be able to hold 12 inch PCI cards, and shoehorning several 7 inch cards into one would be impossible. Non-standard components can really suck...just take a look at a standard ATX PSU vs the MDD style PSU (80-92 mm fans vs 40 mm fans).

Cubes also won't help air circulation much. There's less surface area to dssipate heat in addition to a wider cross-section to blow air across.

Realistically, any Power Mac will be at least 16"x16"x7" ... about the same volume as a 12" cube, btu with a lot more surface area to work with...and a lot less wasted volume toward the center barring really exotic and expensive component layouts...

Well, a 12" cube would be kinda fat, but not necessarily wrong in terms of fitting full 12" cards. They could fit if the box were merely cubish (like the last cube). Personally, I think that an evolution of the current case is the best thing they could do, it's already the best case on the market.

However, if volume of air is important, then a cube could be just as good for holding/cooling. Imagine a core that slides out like the old cube. The Mobo sits on the bottom with the cards to the back and the CPU/heatsink to the side. That makes the bottom half of the cube and that slides out in a tray. The top half has another tray that holds the drives and PSU and slides in/out on a separate tray. It holds two optical bays and 4 vertical mount HDD's, two on either side of the horizontal opticals. Done. Lots a room, but is it really better than El Capt'n?

I dunno think so. To me the current case still looks better than anything out there, the swing out door is unmatched, it holds enough drives, isn't overly large, has very convenient handles, and fits into spaces standardized around a tower design! (which a large cube would NOT).

The only better looking case was the slow silver case. If Apple ditched the mirror doors in favor of one continuous face plate and perhaps tweaked the color/materials of the MDD, that's damn near perfect already!

For the consumer model, chop the pro model box in half to 17 x 9 x 9 inches, have 1 hot swap hard disk, have 1 5.25" bay, have front port connectors, have the internals pull out of the back like the G4 Cube with 1 AGP + 1 PCI slot, have cheap looking plastics, and a couple of blinking lights.

Originally posted by THTFor the consumer model, chop the pro model box in half to 17 x 9 x 9 inches, have 1 hot swap hard disk, have 1 5.25" bay, have front port connectors, have the internals pull out of the back like the G4 Cube with 1 AGP + 1 PCI slot, have cheap looking plastics, and a couple of blinking lights.

Ugh, you've just described the typical SFF PC that Shuttle, Soltek, FIC and other brands make. No thanks. So, it's a cube with one PCI slot...big whoop. If Apple's going to go back to selling more than one Pro machine, I'd think a 19" tower with 6 PCI slots and a 14" mini-tower with 3 PCI slots would be the way to go. Also, 9" is spectacularly wide. My PC cases are both 8 inches wide with plenty of extra space on the side. You could go as narrow as 7" before you start getting really cramped.

I'm impressed with your basic design. I don't really see why people like cubes, so I'm mostly looking at the bigger tower range. The option for different sizes of cases would be a good step to take.

Apple though would not want to take the direction of having several different models as they want to take the 'slim-line' approach.

But it would be great to see a High-end Workstation boasting only the best specifications come out of Apple, then be utilized at Pixar with the Sun Farm; as well as sold as a PowerMac Workstation publically.

now i'd have to get at least 20 of those. (um. $$. NOT. maybe 10)
-walloo.

A new case would be cool whatever it is...apple just dosen't make stuff thats not top of the line. But personally, I doubt we will see a new case with the new processors. We didn't get one with the intro of G3's, nor the G4. Then again, it is an old design?but also a very good one. I would expect another change simular to the mirror door revision. But I'd be more than happy to be totaly blown away w/ s.t new

I don't understand where the current case is such a mess, as Eugene put it. A mess compared to what? When I see one opened up, Ok, not an MDD, but DA PM's or a slow silver, they look pretty straight forward to me. Flip door down, add a card, remove a card, drop in an HDD. Considering the MDD's take 2 opticals and 4 HDD's, they seem to me an improvement, if not aesthetically, over the SlowSilver. Cleaning up the plastic fascia a bit would be more than enough, to me. Also the case looks smaller to me than most cases that can hold 6 drives (2 optical and 4 HDD's).

I'd be really happy with the current case, mildly restyled, who cares what the vintage is, the design works, and STILL hasn't been bettered by any PC case of similar size. Yes, there are easy access PC cases, but they're HUGE.

I'd definitely go for a smaller PM if they made 2 sizes, 3 and 6 slot, 1 and 2 optical, smaller square and larger square (when viewed from the side). Mebbe one 13x13x9, and the other, slightly larger than the current machine 19x19x9.

7" wide cases always look spindly and wrong to me. Apple's are currently 8.9", they're fine as they are (I just rounded to 9 for simplicity's sake)

1) slimline PSU - it sucks
2) massive heatsink
3) PCI cards on top with no way to exhaust the hot air
4) poorly ventilated

ATX PSUs with two fans are important. In PCs, the bottom fan sucks hot air from the CPU and the rest of the components into the PSU while another fan sucks that air out of the case.

The heatsink is ridiculous. If there was more air being blown into the case directly, things would be much better. That 120 mm fan in the middle of the case barely does anything buy create turbulence.

The PCI cards dissipate heat...where does the heat go? The heat can't go up... And there's no exhaust fan...

I'd like to see Apple use two low speed 120 mm fans...one exhaust, one intake. On the heatsink itself, it depends...In the case of one heatsink being used for two CPUs, I'd say a 92 mm fan + shroud/duct sucking air off the thing would work nicely.

Ok, but does that really require massive changes to the case exterior?

Some of the internal layout will have to be a little different than standard ATX in order to accomodate the drop down door, which to me seems like a winning feature that they ought to keep.

A fan on the heatsink, with some ducts to exhaust air, and a slight reworking of the PSU could probably do the trick. I don't think the cards are that much of a problem that heat issues can't be solved as you suggest with a couple of slow turning fans (intake and exhaust)

PS, I really like your idea about big and little PM's, 3 and 6 slot, I think they could be made into perfect squares (from the side) and would look very stylish and in keeping with Apple's current design language. I think they should keep the handles though.

Originally posted by Eugene
Ugh, you've just described the typical SFF PC that Shuttle, Soltek, FIC and other brands make. No thanks. So, it's a cube with one PCI slot...big whoop. If Apple's going to go back to selling more than one Pro machine, I'd think a 19" tower with 6 PCI slots and a 14" mini-tower with 3 PCI slots would be the way to go. Also, 9" is spectacularly wide. My PC cases are both 8 inches wide with plenty of extra space on the side. You could go as narrow as 7" before you start getting really cramped.

As stated, the El Capitan case is 9" wide. But details, details. I'm fine with shrinking a consumer desktop to 16 x 8 x 8. It's not a cube, but it has an elegant ratio of dimensions. But my idea is an $800 machine so I can get the 20" LCD.

Originally posted by THTAs stated, the El Capitan case is 9" wide. But details, details. I'm fine with shrinking a consumer desktop to 16 x 8 x 8. It's not a cube, but it has an elegant ratio of dimensions. But my idea is an $800 machine so I can get the 20" LCD.

I agree totally.

just waiting to be included in one of Apple's target markets.Don't get me wrong, I like the flat panel iMac, actually own an iMac, and I like the Mac mini, but...........

anybody saw the new alienware cases ?
all I can say is wow ! Maybe too tall... but wow again.
If Apple can do a mix between the Alien case + an xServe + El Cap...
all without the noises... I will be in heaven !

"I like workin on my Mac to jazz. A pianist doesn't spend time peeking inside the piano." Neville Brody

Originally posted by THTAs stated, the El Capitan case is 9" wide. But details, details. I'm fine with shrinking a consumer desktop to 16 x 8 x 8. It's not a cube, but it has an elegant ratio of dimensions. But my idea is an $800 machine so I can get the 20" LCD.

It's 9" at the bulges. It's about 8.5" at the faceplate. It's about 8" without the thick polycarbonate!

Personally, I'd rather have a slimline desktop vs. a fake cube. If the thing's only going to have one AGP and one PCI slot, the slots can be rotated 90 degrees (on a riser). Think something as tall as an Xserve, maybe slightly taller to allow for more cooling options. I'm thinking 14"x14"x4"

It gives you more placement options too...you could stack your monitor on top of it to save deskspace. You could stack several of them... You could buy a stand and mount it upright too. With a 16"x8"x8" block PC, you don't really save that much space. Since I'd lose deskspace with it anyway, I'd just put it on the ground, where vertical space is plentiful. The typical SF PC only makes sense to me if you're going to buy several of them and stack them up...

Originally posted by jerombaanybody saw the new alienware cases ?
all I can say is wow ! Maybe too tall... but wow again.
If Apple can do a mix between the Alien case + an xServe + El Cap...
all without the noises... I will be in heaven !

Well, they're not really new. It's basically the same chassis as before, with spiffy exterior panels.

Originally posted by Eugene
Personally, I'd rather have a slimline desktop vs. a fake cube. If the thing's only going to have one AGP and one PCI slot, the slots can be rotated 90 degrees (on a riser). Think something as tall as an Xserve, maybe slightly taller to allow for more cooling options. I'm thinking 14"x14"x4"

It gives you more placement options too...you could stack your monitor on top of it to save deskspace. You could stack several of them... You could buy a stand and mount it upright too.

I like pizza box designs too. Considering the design of Apple LCD panels, a pizza box would have to be mounted upright anyways. But I could grant the Apple LCDs being redesigned. As far as stacking several of them, I only intend to have one of them per desk.

For the box dimensions, I'd like it flatter and wider; make it stand out. So, I'd rather have it 16 x 16 x 2 inches.

Quote:

With a 16"x8"x8" block PC, you don't really save that much space.

The footprint is going to be 8 x 8 inches, like the G4 Cube. That's small enough for me. On top of that, the optical drive can be horizontal for "upright" configurations, and there will be lots of room for a heatsink and perhaps a large low-RPM fan. I would hope it runs silent.